Learning to Run
by Luna Lupa
Summary: Central city is under attack. Cut off from the outside world join Wally and Kat on their journey of survival.
1. Chapter 1

The sun was shining down on the beautiful city of Central City one afternoon. It was a completely average day, or as average as any day can get with super heroes and villains living along side normal people who are going about their everyday business. The Scarlet Speedsters had taken care of some thug and had them all wrapped up for the police to escort them to prison. One girl was particularly happy and had an energetic spring in her step. Kat had gotten the pleasure of meeting Kid Flash when he rescued her from some falling debris that was about to crush her.

Kid Flash was gentlemanly enough to buy her a new necklace from the Flash store. The one she had been wearing had came a loose and was crushed underneath the debris when he rescued her. He had insisted on buying her a new one, but Kat had tried to politely refuse the kind hero's offer. Apparently though, Kid Flash does not take no for an answer. In the end, she accepted and in the blink of an eye Kid Flash ran off into the store and came back holding a necklace identical to her previous one. The necklace had the Flash lightning bolt surrounded by a small gold hoop on a gold chain. Kid Flash's token rested just below her collar bone and caught the light in the most pleasant manner. It meant the world to her that _the _Kid Flash was thoughtful enough to give her something. He probably saved hundreds of girls before, but Kat doubted that he gave all of them a necklace. That thought made Kat beam and sigh dreamily.

The police had offered her a ride to her house but she had politely declined. She was entirely too excited to sit in a car for the several minutes it would take to get to her house. That is how she ended up walking (skipping would be a more appropriate term) home. She didn't know it at the time but that dazed choice to walk instead of getting a ride was going to change her life forever.

She shivered as a strong gust of wind blew through Central. The sun's warm brilliance was covered by a cluster of dark clouds as the sky rumbled. A storm was brewing and she was beginning to wonder if she would make it home before it poured down rain. She buried herself deeper into her jacket and continued her walk home. Everything in sight was covered in the shadow of the rain clouds.

Kat smiled as she looked at the streets. People were scattering about talking, and she saw two kids throw a ball back and forth until their mother came and beckoned them inside. She loved Central City, she loved how it was always so filled with life. People would brave the streets even if there was a foot of snow covering the ground; absolutely nothing could stop these people determined to continue their everyday lives. She knew it wasn't the prettiest city; it didn't even have the Gotham quality that made it strangely irresistible. The thing that set Central apart was the fact that it was so friendly. Sure there were its places where you had to be careful, but most people were willing to help. She heard some cheering and turned towards the noise. She smiled as she saw The Flash and Kid Flash surrounded by a group of kids. All the kids were hanging off The Flash with their attention solely on them. She could hear them animate how they defeated the thugs today. Even though it was one of their less exciting tales, the kids ate up every word like candy.

As she got closer, she made out Kid Flash's face as he talked. With each part he made wild gestures with his hands. "Then suddenly... BOOM! A wall began to collapse on itself with a girl right underneath it." The child gasped staring at Kid Flash wide-eyed waiting for the next part. "She saw the wall coming but she wasn't fast enough and..." He noticed her watching and smirked. "And... She's right here!" The children gasped and turned to look at me.

In seconds the mob of children swarmed around her and started to question her. "Did you escape?" "How did you get away?" "Were you crushed?" "You died didn't you? You were crushed to pieces and died. I knew it!" One of the bolder children went up to Kid Flash and yanked on his pants leg.

"And then what happened?" He asked looking up at Kid Flash with curious blue eyes.

"I think that she should tell what happened next," Kid Flash stated smirking at her.

"No thanks, I think you'll tell it better," Kat said trying to find a path out of the group of kids. They didn't help by clinging onto her pant legs and begging her to tell the story.

He caught her wrist and smiled at the kids "Do you think she could tell a good story?"

"Yes!" The kids chorused.

Kat sighed, she knew she had a weakness for little kids. She never could deny them anything. _Oh well, how bad could it be _she thought. "If you say so, well I was walking home from dance when I heard some shouting. I looked to the place where it seemed to be coming from and I saw Flash and Kid Flash fighting one of the biggest men I have ever seen. He was even bigger than Superman! I was busy watching the fight and I didn't notice the wall was beginning to fall until I heard it creak. I started running but I was too slow! I was going to be crushed! Just as the wall was going to crash on me, I was saved by Central City's own Kid Flash."

Thankfully, the children were satisfied with Kat's story, and slowly dispersed as their mother's came by one by one to take them away. Soon there was none left and it was just The Flash, Kid Flash, and Kat. Kid Flash and The Flash were talking while Kat was just standing off to the side awkwardly.

"You ready to go, Kid?" The Flash asked Kid Flash.

Kid Flash shook his head "I'll catch up," He turned to her and asked "Do you want a ride home?"

"I'll walk, besides I don't you have a car," She stated.

"I'm Kid Flash, I don't need one," He said cockily.

"Woah, woah, woah, buddy. Back it up. You're offering to_ carry_ me home? You don't even know my name," She said crossing her arms and raising her eyebrow.

"Well, what's your name, beautiful?" He asked smirking arrogantly.

"I can tell you it ain't beautiful," She said smacking his arm. It took her all of a second to realize she had hit a superhero who had saved her life only a half hour previously. "I'm so sorry…" She began but he cut her off.

"For what?" He asked. He seemed honestly confused.

"I just hit you…" She trailed off realizing that she sounded like a complete dolt.

"You call that a hit? I get hit harder than that on a daily basis," He copied her pose and she blushed. _Smooth, first you hit him them you blush like an idiot. Way to go Einstein, he must think you're a complete dork right now._

After a moment, he said "Please tell me you can hit harder than that." He teased studying her.

"I've never tried to hit anyone harder," She shrugged.

"Hit me,"

"What?" Kat stared at him. _I must have heard him wrong. There is no way he _asked_ me to hit him._

"Hit my hand,"

"Why?" Her tone clearly stressed that she thought he might have lost his mind.

"While I enjoy rescuing beautiful maidens such as yourself, I don't have enough time to do it very often."

"Kid Flash doesn't have enough time?" She stated smirking.

He rolled his eyes and held up his hand "Hit my hand as hard as you can. Prove to me you don't hit like a girl and I'll stop bothering you."

"Two things," She clenched her hand into a fist at her side "One, don't call me beautiful, my name is Kat," She punched the outstretched hand "Two, I am a girl, Speedy."

"I think I know that you're a girl. Wait... Did you just call me Speedy?" He asked incredulously. A second later he chuckled and held out the hand she had punched. "Now that we know you can actually put up a fight, and at least attempt to defend yourself, how about lunch?"

"You realize its 2:30 right?"

"So, do want to come?" He asked pulling his goggles off his head.

Kat thought for a moment then shrugged. She didn't have anywhere to be at the moment. "Sure," she replied. Before she knew what was happening she had Kid Flash's goggles on her head and was being carried bridal style at a speed too fast for her to ever guess. She pulled the goggles down over her eyes and watched the scenery zip by. Most people she knew would have been made sick by the flashing colors that were the scenery, but it didn't bother her. She always been able to stomach her need for speed.

"What ya' think?" Kid flash asked her.

"It's fantastic! How can you see without the goggles?" Kat asked suddenly worried that they were going to run into a building.

"My powers help partially and I'm not going too fast,"

"Then what's considered too fast to you, oh superior one?" She asked looking up at his face.

She spotted his smirk as he replied "Nothing," Kat didn't dignify that with a response.

It only took them a few minutes to get to the restaurant. It was a small place with agreeable prices and Kat had gone out with friends here many times. She raised an eyebrow at his choice, and he shrugged throwing an arm over her shoulder "Let me introduce you to the finest restaurant in Central. The only place where you can get 10 foot sandwich for less that 10 dollars,"

Kat mock bowed to Kid Flash and said "Lead the way."

The rest of the night was surprisingly pleasant for Kat. They weren't swamped with Flash fans because Kid Flash came here often enough that people didn't really mind his presence. He was just another regular. Kid Flash paid for both of their lunches and they talked long into the night.

"So you're a dancer..." Kid Flash drawled to keep the conversation going.

She nodded "Yeah, I bet you could be too."

Kid Flash choked on his water for a millisecond before gaining control of himself. "What?"

Kat leaned on her elbows and nodded "I've seen the way you move. You have a dancer's grace. With some training you could the best."

He cast a nervous glance around before laughing shakily and saying "Nah... It's not really up my alley." His eyes fell to his drink and darted around nervously.

"Oh my gosh! You thought about it before! You wanna become a dancer!"

A hand clapped over her mouth and he whispered "Not so loud." He settled back in to his seat and said "Yeah... I considered dancing, but it was only for like a second."

"That's alot of time for a speedster," Kat pointed out and Kid Flash stood up.

"Are you ready to go Red?" He asked, he had given her the nickname during lunch when the waiter commented on her red hair.

"Okay," Kat stood and let the subject of dancing drop for the moment. "So… what do you do when you're not Kid Flash?"

He was saved from answering by a sudden explosion. He flung himself in front of Kat and pulled them both to the ground covering her body with his. Once the wave had passed, he stood up and pulled her with him. They looked to the direction the explosion had come from and simultaneously said "Oh no."


	2. Chapter 2

_They looked in the direction the explosion came from and simultaneously said "Oh no,"_

A second after the explosion, a face was projected onto the mist in the sky and Kat was immediately reminded of Star Wars. The man on the screen looked like some sort of crossbred between of Darth Maul and a mutated ant. He had Darth Maul's face but the antennas and pinchers of an ant. His face was the only thing shown.

He said something to someone off screen and bright white light flashed across Central City. Kid Flash and Kat covered their eyes by instinct but were still blinded for a moment. When the dark spots finally faded away from their vision the man began to speak.

"Elders of Earth, you are to give all residents under 18 to us. Kill Kid Flash," Was all that was said before the face disappeared.

Kid Flash snorted. "Like anyone will ever listen to- What the heck are you doing?" A crowd of adults were limping towards Kid Flash like sleepwalkers(or zombies depending on how many zombie apocalypse movies you watch), their eyes staring blankly ahead. His eyes nervously scanned over the adults slowly walking towards them. Something was wrong. Terribly wrong.

He was just coming to a break through when one of the adults took a swing at him with a metal bat, that seemingly came out of nowhere. Luckily, he was able to dodge under it, grab Kat, and was running before the man had even finished his swing. Kat righted herself in Kid Flash's arms and grumbled "Is this going to become a regular thing?" Kid Flash smirked and turned another corner. He had a rapidly growing suspicion of what was happening but he had to be sure, and he knew the perfect way to check.

He set Kat down on a corner and said "Stay."

She pulled her hands under her chin in the dog position. "Woof," she said sarcastically. Kat didn't have time to notice the fear in his eyes as he smiled and ran into the house. He was at the door of the house he was looking for in less than a millisecond. Already thinking ahead, he told Kat to wait near the front of the house so he could run out and grab her at the first sign of trouble.

He took a deep breath and opened the door calling out "Mom! Dad!" The house remained silent unless you count the echo of his voice bouncing off the walls as he continued to look for his parents in the eerily quiet house. He was beginning to panic. Kid Flash was relieved to see his mom sitting on the couch staring at the TV.

"Mom, thank god! I was so worried! There's some alien guy after me and I thought…Mom?" He paused mid sentence and realized that she hadn't moved from her spot since he came in and she was still staring blankly at the TV, slouching in the sofa with the remote lying in her limp hand.

It was then he noticed the pale yellow sheen covering her eyes and knew that whatever had affected the other adults had affected her as well. Someone enveloped him in a bear hug from behind and he instantly started to struggle. He elbowed his attacker and heard the air rush out of their lungs as they gasped with pain, but their grip didn't loosen at all.

One of their hands grabbed his face and he immediately felt as he had run across the USA (again), fought Count Vertigo and Batman 2 on 1 in the middle of the Sahara without the tiniest drop of water. The man pulled off his mask and placed his other hand on his face. The feeling intensified 1000 times and he fell unable to support himself. Slowly he could feel himself growing weaker and weaker until he was certain a tiny kitten could protect itself better than he could. The hands on his face followed him to the floor and flipped him of his back to get a better grip.

It was then he saw his attackers face. "Dad?" he whispered confused. Even though, he was pretty sure the alien dude was controlling his father he couldn't help his stomach knotting at the thought of his own father trying to hurt him. His father's facial expression didn't change as his son grew weaker and weaker with each passing second. He was just about to fall unconscious when he realized that whatever his dad was doing to him he was going to die if it didn't stop in the next few seconds.

He gathered his remaining energy and screamed, pushing himself away from his dad's hands. Once his dad's hands were off of him a little strength returned to him and he pushed himself even farther away. But he wasn't far enough. In two steps his dad was next to him again and his hands were on his face, just before he lost consciousness he saw a flash of red and smiled. _Uncle Barry_ was his last thought before he drifted off into the realm of unconsciousness.

Almost the second Kid Flash left, it started to rain. _Of course,_ Kat thought wishing she had a jacket. Lighting flashed and, its close buddy, thunder immediately followed. _That's a little too close for me_, she thought for a moment then went inside the building behind her. Surprisingly, the door wasn't locked and she was able to walk right inside. She saw the inside and realized it must be a police station.

She heard something crash and shouted out "Hello?" When no reply came she continued her search peeking into dark windows as she passed by. She heard the noise again and discovered it was coming from the door on her left. She slowly pushed it open and walked inside. It wasn't hard for her to figure out that it was a lab of some sort.

Kat flicked the light on and walked towards the nearest station. Everything was neatly put away into high shelves and all that was on the station was a journal lying face down on the white table top. Curiosity got the better of her and she opened it.

_**Today, Wally met a girl. He seemed to like her, and she seemed to like him. I asked him if he was ready to leave and he told me he catch up, in other words he wanted to spend time with the girl. I'll talk to him later and ask him about her. Might even get to embarrass him a bit.**_

Kat closed the journal realizing it was something private and probably belonged to the Flash. She walked to the window and looked out. From her perch up here, she could see the suburbs of Central City. One nearby caught her eye, the light was on and she could see two figures rough housing in what appeared to be a living room. She used the telescope by the window to get a closer look. The person paused for a moment and she saw it was Kid Flash.

_That must be his house! He must be checking on his family!_ She realized turning to leave.

There was a crash of thunder and Kat tripped and fell into a rack of chemicals. Lighting struck her and the chemical a moment later and the room was lit up in an otherworldly purple light. She fell to the floor shaking. It seemed as if she lay there for hours withering in pain as the chemicals burned her skin and she could have sworn that she could smell burning flesh. As suddenly as it started it stopped and Kat sat up slowly expecting it to be back any moment. When nothing happened she looked at the clock to see how long she had been there. She was shocked to see it had been less than a minute.

_How can it have only been a minute? It felt like hours_. Kat jumped when she heard a scream. She ran down the hall, out the door, and towards the house she had seen Kid Flash in. Well, what she supposed to be Kid Flash because in reality she was really only reacting on a gut instinct. Kat was so busy hoping he was okay that she didn't notice that as not one droplet was pelted against her.

She burst into the house and ran down the hall to the living room and saw Kid Flash lying on the floor, mask off, with a man, that looked oddly like him, hovering dangerously over him. Kat didn't think she ran at the man and punched him knocking him out with one blow. A woman attacked her from her other side and she knocked her out with the same move she used on the man. A fleeting thought entered her mind, _Oh my gosh, I just punched both of Kid Flash's parents._ Mentally, she face palmed. _I can't imagine a better way to get a guy to like you than punch his parents in the face._ But as quickly as it came it left as soon as she caught sight of Kid Flash lying on the ground.

She knelt by Kid Flash's side and felt for a pulse. No words could describe her relief when she found one. "Kid Flash? Kid Flash are you okay?" _No, he's not okay, stupid! He was attacked and now he's dying! _Kat's mind told her. She told it to shut up and to stop being so negative about her actions I mean her mind controls her. Does it not?

"Kat, go upstairs and go to the third room to the right grab the black backpacks by the bed. Both of them," Kid Flash whispered as he attempted to get up himself and she ran up the stairs and to the room Kid Flash was talking about. She was about to leave when she spotted a science award. It was for Wally West, the guy who the scientist wrote about.

She ran back down the stairs and knelt by Kid Flash's side again. "I got them,"

"Good, in the smallest pocket there is a shot. I need you to give it to me," He said and Kat winced at how weak his voice sounded.

Kat found the shot he was looking for and handed it to his waiting hand. He plunged the needle into his leg and handed it back to her when he was finished. "I'll be better in a few minutes," he reassured her offering her a watered down smile. "I hope," he muttered to himself.

_Should I tell him that I know? He might be angry but he deserves to know,_ After a moment of battling with herself, she took a deep breath and said, "I know your Wally West."

For a moment, it seemed he didn't hear her then he sighed, "How'd you find out?"

"I saw a science award with Wally West on it upstairs and I just assumed this is your house so…" She trailed off letting him think. "I won't tell anyone," She promised.

Grinning, he said, "You just assumed correctly." He winced then asked, "What happened to my parents?"

"I might have... Well... What would you do if I had accidentally punched them in the face and might have knocked the out."

Wally grinned. "I'd have to thank you." Sighing, he laid back down and murmured sleepily, "It might take me longer than I thought to recover fully. I'm going to go to sleep, wake me if anything happens. Then we can... We can..." His eyes slowly drooped and within seconds he was out like a snubbed candle.

For a red hair with a lot of freckles, he wasn't too bad looking. It's hard to pull the whole freckle look off, and Kat _knows_ that. From what she saw earlier, his eyes were a grass blade green, several shades darker that her own. She looked away and turned on the TV. Kat knew she couldn't do anything 'til Kid Flash woke up and she had to do something, so TV was the best option.

Kat was about to change the channel when she smelt something burning. She followed the smell and saw that it was coming from the bottom of her shoes. On a closer expectation she discovers the whole sole was burnt black. _What the heck? _Shrugging it off as a harmless mishap, she continued to channel surf.

**So what do you think? Love it? Like it? Gotta read more? (Yay coldstone!) Review and tell me what you think. :-)**


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